What are the most challenging and rewarding aspects of your job and why?
The most challenging aspect of both of my careers is that gray space between business problems and marketing problems. It can be challenging to distinguish one from the other, and it’s frustrating when we’re trying to solve a business problem with a marketing solution because it doesn’t work. I don’t expect this to ever get easier, but boy, is it worth it when we land on the right solution for the right problem and we’re able to help a business build their brand and provide greater value to their target.
The rewarding aspects that I value the most are the little wins, the details that matter but that others may not see, and the thinking and collaboration that happens between all the seams of big ideas and executions. There’s not a day that goes by without a couple of wins here and there.
Who do you look up to or admire in business and why?
In Madison, I’ve always admired Jason Ilstrup, who is now president of Downtown Madison Inc. I’ve had less than a couple of hours with him but left with the lofty goal of being even half as nice, caring, thoughtful, smart, and strategic as he is. He cares and you feel that selflessness from the moment you shake his hand.
Outside of Madison, Seth Godin is my hero of all heroes. He taught me how to leap, how to be a smart marketer, and how to not just run a business but make positive change happen in a community. He is my must-read author for anyone looking to become a marketer, a business owner, or simply anyone who wants to make a ruckus.
What has been the high point of your career so far?
One of the most memorable wins has been when I was on a naming project for a pneumatic tool company. I clocked in more than 11 hours of coming up with names for a new line of pneumatic tools along with a cohort of others. In the end, the client selected one of my names, which I named after the one day a month that I take off to “get stuff done.” They call it the GSD Series.
Thinking back on your career, what advice would you give your 21-year-old self?
I’d give the same advice that Dana Arnold, vice president of the PR, social media, and content department at Hiebing, gave me when I interviewed her for a school writing project back in the day. She told me not to chase after a work-life balance because there is no such thing. “It’s a work-life blend,” she told me. That frame of thinking changed everything for me (for the better) and I think about it every day.
What would you say are the best things about living and working in Dane County?
It has always been about the people for me. It’s why I moved here, went to school here, work here, and opened a craft beer bar here. The people I get to collaborate with, serve, and provide for are model people: positive, hardworking, and outgoing, and they understand that all ships rise with the tide. I’ve always felt supported when I’ve been the one asking for help and appreciated when I’m the one providing the support. It’s a win-win-win kind of city.
Do you have any secret talents or abilities that people would be surprised to discover?
I’ve memorized every word of the movie Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, can hum every song in it, and am pretty close to nailing all the accents of each character. People are usually impressed for the first five minutes of the movie, and then they’re annoyed when they realize that I wasn’t joking about my “talent” and that there’s no off switch for me once the movie starts playing.
What are your guilty pleasures?
Aside from drinking chocolate milk right out of a half-gallon jug or entering a mosh pit at a rock concert (but definitely not at the same time), my guilty pleasure would be rewatching the show How I Met Your Mother from first season to last (including the alternative ending). Beware: I’m not far off from having all the words memorized for the first season of that, too.
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